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756 m · Wainwright — Eastern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Hart Side - a stone cairn on a broad grassy summit, distant fells and lowlands beneath showery grey cloud
Wainwright — Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Hart Side

Hart Side at 756m (2,480ft) is a broad, grassy summit between Stybarrow Dodd and the Ullswater shoreline, giving commanding views over the eastern shores of the lake and across to the High Street range.

756 m
Height
~3.5–4.5 h
Typical time
+10
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Hart Side

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

756 mWainwright — Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+10 bonus Birketts within 3 km Serious in Clag

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 756 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 14° to 12°C, gusts to 39 mph, 5.7 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
14° / 12°
💨 39 mph
🌧 5.7 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 10°
💨 34 mph
🌧 5.8 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
13° / 5°
💨 29 mph
🌧 1.0 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 3°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 12 mph
🌧 5.1 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
15° / 3°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 15 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (23%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 756 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

About the walk

Key information

Hart Side

Hart Side - a stone cairn on a broad grassy summit, distant fells and lowlands beneath showery grey cloud
© Lee McCoy

Hart Side at 756m (2,480ft) is a broad, grassy summit between Stybarrow Dodd and the Ullswater shoreline, giving commanding views over the eastern shores of the lake and across to the High Street range. Wainwright described it as a fell of wide-ranging views, particularly east to the Pennines and north down the Vale of Eden. Reached from Dockray or Glenridding, usually combined with Sheffield Pike for a fine Ullswater circuit. Its open, grassy summit plateau is pleasant walking on a clear day, offering a quieter alternative to the busy Helvellyn ridges to the west.

Routes up Hart Side

Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.

Birketts above Ullswater
16.5 km · ~4.4 hr
Hart Side, Stybarrow Dodd, Raise, Watson's Dodd and more
24.4 km · ~6.2 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
756 m
Height
2,480 ft
In feet
NY 3590 1973
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

Nearest parking: Dockray (roadside), about 3.6 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Hart Side (within 3 km)

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits — detour to them on this walk and they are pure profit. Distances are straight-line; allow extra for terrain.

0.6 km EBirkett Fell725 m · Eastern
1.2 km SSWGreen Side (White Stones - Green Side)794 m · Eastern
1.7 km NWRanderside729 m · Eastern
1.9 km EBrown Hills551 m · Eastern
1.9 km NNEHigh Brow575 m · Eastern
2.0 km ESwineside Knott553 m · Eastern
2.3 km WNWLittle Dodd (St John's Common)785 m · Eastern
2.4 km NELow How497 m · Eastern
2.4 km SEHeron Pike (Glenridding)612 m · Eastern
2.4 km ENECommon Fell552 m · Eastern

Routes over Hart Side

Birketts above UllswaterPlanned
16.45 km · ~694 m ascent · loop · ~4–6 h
Summits: Low HowHigh BrowRandersideGreat DoddStybarrow DoddHart SideBirkett FellBrown HillsRound HowBracken How

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

Hart Side, Stybarrow Dodd, Raise, Watson's Dodd and moreRevised
24.44 km · ~816 m ascent · loop · ~6–8 h
Summits: Hart SideGreen Side (White Stones - Green Side)Stybarrow DoddRaiseWatson's DoddGreat DoddLittle Dodd (St John's Common)Clough Head

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

The View from Hart Side

A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.

drag to pan · arrow keys
Computed 360-degree skyline from Hart Side34 labelled tops shown (9 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 19 kmHelvellyn · 5 kmSkiddaw · 14 kmRaise · 3 kmFairfield · 8 kmBlencathra · 9 kmGreat Dodd · 2 kmStybarrow Dodd · 2 kmSt Sunday Crag · 6 kmHigh Street · 12 kmHigh Raise · 11 kmKnowe Crags · 9 kmWatson's Dodd · 2 kmThornthwaite Crag · 12 kmRed Screes · 12 kmStony Cove Pike · 11 kmRed Crag · 10 kmBowscale Fell · 11 kmScales Fell · 9 kmBakestall · 14 kmLoadpot Hill · 10 kmCarrock Fell · 14 kmCross Fell · 36 km · clear daysHelvellyn Lower Man · 5 kmBirkett Fell · 1 kmWether Hill · 10 kmHigh Brow · 2 kmSwarth Fell · 10 kmGreat Mell Fell · 7 kmLittle Mell Fell · 8 kmLow How · 2 kmSighty Crag · 66 km · clear daysGreen Hill · 5 kmEycott Hill · 10 kmGategill Fell Top · 9 kmHart Crag · 8 kmRampsgill Head · 11 kmGavel Pike · 6 kmLow Raise · 11 kmThe Knott · 10 kmFroswick · 14 kmCatstye Cam · 4 kmDoddick Fell · 9 kmLonscale Pike · 10 kmGray Crag · 11 kmLittle Hart Crag · 10 kmBirks · 6 kmBonscale Pike · 10 kmSouther Fell · 9 kmBeda Fell · 7 kmWatermillock Fell · 8 kmThe Cheviot · 115 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 122 km · a handful of days a yearWhite Coomb · 97 km · a rare clear dayWisp Hill · 80 km · a rare clear dayRoan Fell · 74 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 112 km · a rare clear dayBlackcraig Hill · 112 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 84 km · a rare clear dayBlackwood Hill · 78 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Hart Side, by direction
  • North: Scales Fell (9 km), Atkinson Pike (9 km), Bannerdale Crags (10 km), Bowscale Fell (11 km)
  • East: Loadpot Hill (10 km)
  • South-east: Red Crag (10 km), The Knott (10 km), High Raise (11 km), Rampsgill Head (11 km), Caudale Moor (11 km), Stony Cove Pike (11 km), Low Raise (11 km), High Street (12 km), Thornthwaite Crag (12 km), Froswick (14 km), Ill Bell (14 km)
  • South: Helvellyn (5 km), St Sunday Crag (6 km), Gavel Pike (6 km), Fairfield (8 km), Hart Crag (8 km), Red Screes (12 km)
  • South-west: Stybarrow Dodd (2 km), Raise (3 km), Ill Crag (18 km), Broad Crag (19 km), Scafell Pike (19 km)
  • West: Watson's Dodd (2 km)
  • North-west: Great Dodd (2 km), Blencathra (9 km), Gategill Fell Top (9 km), Knowe Crags (9 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (12 km), Skiddaw Little Man (12 km), Skiddaw South Top (13 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (13 km), Skiddaw (14 km), Skiddaw North Top (14 km), Broad End (14 km), Bakestall (14 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: The Cheviot (115 km, England), Tinto (122 km, Scotland), White Coomb (97 km, Scotland), Ettrick Pen (89 km, Scotland), Culter Fell (114 km, Scotland), Wisp Hill (80 km, Scotland), Cauldcleuch Head (82 km, Scotland), Roan Fell (74 km, Scotland).

Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Hart Side

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
49Wainwrights in view+9 marginal
37 kmFurthest sightlineGreat Dun Fell
—Sea in viewnone from here
Far horizons
  • Great Dun Fell North PenninesENE · 37 km clear
  • Cross Fell North PenninesENE · 36 km clear
All 49 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Stybarrow Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Great Dodd, Watson's Dodd, Raise, Clough Head, Birkhouse Moor, Catstye Cam, Helvellyn, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Place Fell, Birks, St Sunday Crag, Great Mell Fell, Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), Beda Fell (Beda Head), Hallin Fell, Little Mell Fell, Fairfield, Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts), Brock Crags (Wainwright), Hart Crag, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Souther Fell, Rest Dodd, Hartsop Dodd, Bonscale Pike, Bannerdale Crags, Loadpot Hill, Wether Hill, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), Arthur's Pike, Lonscale Fell, The Knott (High Street), High Raise (High Street), Rampsgill Head, Middle Dodd, Bowscale Fell, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Red Screes, High Street, Thornthwaite Crag, Skiddaw Little Man, Froswick, Skiddaw, Carrock Fell, Ill Bell, Bakestall, High Pike (Caldbeck)

How Hart Side’s view compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

Sightlines from a bare-earth terrain model (forests and buildings not included), corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.

Best parking to hike Hart Side

Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).

Dockray (roadside) — 3.6 km from summit (straight line)
Verge parking for the Dodds and Matterdale Common.
Directions
Legburthwaite (United Utilities, small) — 3.9 km from summit (straight line)
St John's in the Vale — Sticks Pass side, High Rigg, Raven Crag.
Directions
🚺 Legburthwaite Car Park (155m) — Free

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

Tip: pan and zoom the interactive map at the top of this page to spot other potential parking near your route.

Buses to Hart Side from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 555
Kendal – Staveley – Windermere – Ambleside – Rydal – Grasmere – Thirlmere (Wythburn & Swirls) – Keswick
Catch it from: Windermere · Ambleside
Year-round, roughly hourly. The backbone bus of the A591 — ideal for Helvellyn (Wythburn/Swirls), Fairfield, the Central fells and anything around Grasmere/Rydal. From Penrith, take the X4/X5 to Keswick and change.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

My hikes over Hart Side (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Hazard & Incident Information for Hart Side

Hazard: Moderate

An indistinct, broad grassy fell hung off the eastern Dodds above Glencoyne and Deepdale. The top is gentle and easy to misread in cloud, but its southern side falls away in the precipitous crags of Glencoyne Head, and the approaches cross rough, boggy, tussocky ground. The main hazards are navigation and keeping clear of the steep southern edge. Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • Glencoyne Head crags (southern edge): The south side drops steeply in the cliffs of Glencoyne Head, with precipitous views east. Keep well back from the southern edge, especially in cloud or wind — the broad grassy top gives little warning of the drop.
  • Featureless summit & boggy approaches: The broad grassy summit (with a scatter of boulders and the small Hart Crag outcrop) has few features, and the approaches cross rough, boggy, tussocky ground where the path is faint. Navigate by compass in cloud and watch your footing.
  • Steep slopes into Deepdale & winter: Grassy slopes drop steeply into Deepdale to the north and west; in winter the open ground holds snow and the southern crags hold ice. Keep to gentler ground, and carry full winter kit when there is snow.
Who should attempt this fell: Hart Side is easy walking but indistinct — keep well back from the Glencoyne Head crags on its south side, and navigate the featureless top by compass in cloud. Expect rough, boggy approaches, mind the steep grass into Deepdale, and treat it as exposed winter ground when there is snow or ice.

Most common causes: Walkers straying toward the Glencoyne Head crags in poor visibility · Navigation errors on the featureless grassy top in cloud · Slips on steep grass into Deepdale, or floundering in bog on the approaches · Winter exposure and ice on the open ground and southern crags

Local Mountain Rescue: Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team · Reviewed 14 Jun 2026

Safety: Hazard guidance compiled from published Mountain Rescue reports and well-documented accident history - editorial background, not a live feed of callouts. Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Report incorrect information

Navigating Hart Side in cloud

Serious in cloud

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.

In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.

How Hart Side compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Other fells near Hart Side

Maps & guidebooks for Hart Side

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